Feds level wage discrimination charges at Analogic

Analogic (NSDQ:ALOG) is facing a suit from the U.S. Department of Labor alleging that it engaged in discriminatory pay practices against female assembly workers at its Peabody, Mass.-based headquarters, according to an official notice posted yesterday.

The U.S. DoL said it filed a lawsuit within its Office of Administrative Law Judges based on a compliance review from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

The review reported that Analogic’s compensation policies “resulted in systemic discrimination against women employed in Assembler 2 and Assembler 3 positions,” which stands in violation of the department’s executive order 11246.

The DoL alleges that Analogic paid female employees in those positions less than their male counterparts, and that the pay disparity remained after adjusting for legitimate differences in pay-determining factors, according to a press release.

“Our investigation found that Analogic knew or should have known that its total compensation policies discriminated against female assemblers on the basis of gender. Federal contractors must ensure taxpayer money never funds employment discrimination. Analogic’s failure is unacceptable, and our action today should serve to remind other federal contractors that we will aggressively pursue compensation discrimination cases,” OFCCP director Patricia Shiu said in a press release.

The DoL requested that Analogic “modify its compensation system” to eliminate the disparities, along with a series of changes. Included in the changes are providing back pay, interest, front pay, salary adjustments, fringe benefits, seniority and other benefits to affected female workers and training employees on its compensation process and non-discrimination obligations.

The department also requested that Analogic perform an annual in-depth analysis of its total employment process to identify impediments, and to develop an internal auditing and reporting system to measure its affirmative action program’s effectiveness.

The request came with a threat of canceling all government contracts with Analogic if the company fails to “provide relief” to the affected employees.